


In Name Only

by Rehearsal_Dweller



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-25 15:00:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20914010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rehearsal_Dweller/pseuds/Rehearsal_Dweller
Summary: Donald groaned. “Oh, god, this is about the names, isn’t it?”





	In Name Only

“Donald,” Della said, standing in the doorway to his living room with her arms crossed tightly across her chest. “We need to talk. It’s important.”

“What’s eatin’ ya, sis?” replied Donald. He set down the shirt he’d been patching, ready to give his sister his full attention.

“It’s about the boys.” She came a little further into the room, but her arms stayed crossed. “You’ve done a great job raising them, and I’m really grateful that you stepped up when I - when I was gone. But you took some liberties I don’t appreciate.”

Donald groaned. “Oh, god, this is about the names, isn’t it?”

“ _ Yes _ , Donald, this is about the names!” Della threw her hands up in the air. “I left you very clear instructions! Red was Jet, Blue was Turbo, Green was Rebel! I even left a note!”

“Yeah, you left a note,” said Donald. His tone was a little sharp. “I think I even still have it somewhere, in the Della Box. I almost put it in their baby book but I didn’t want to traumatize them. And then I gave them names they’d actually like.”

“Dewey  _ loves _ his name!” 

“Dewey is  _ ten _ .” Donald sighed deeply. “When we were ten, you wanted to change your name to FLASH SPARKLE-SWOOSH Duck, all caps.”

“And that was an  _ amazing _ name,” Della replied stubbornly.

Donald stared at her. “Oh my god, you’re still such a kid.”

“I’m exactly as old as you are.” She put her hands on her hips forcefully, with a little smacking sound on impact. “In fact, I hatched first.”

“Yeah, always running impulsively into new situations without stopping to think, right from the very beginning,” Donald muttered.

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” he said. 

“No, you said it, own it. Name  _ one _ thing I ran into impulsively without thinking.”

Donald fixed her with a challenging expression. “Ducklings.”

“How  _ dare _ you -” Della started, but Donald cut her off.

“You asked, I’m telling you,” he said, shaking his head. “You weren’t ready for kids. You were still -  _ are _ still such a god damned kid yourself,  _ Dumbella _ . You want to be their mom but you’re trying so hard to be their best friend that you can’t figure out where the boundaries are!”

“Who says I can’t be their friend?” Della said, her voice harsh. “I laid their eggs, I don’t  _ want _ to be their mom, I am! You’re just their uncle, you wouldn’t understand.”

“I wouldn’t understand?” Donald repeated slightly hysterically, “ _ I  _ wouldn’t understand? Understand what? That you rushed into a relationship with that fella? That he dropped you as soon as you told him about the eggs? That you weren’t ready for kids because we were  _ twenty-four  _ and you had barely started taking care of  _ yourself _ ?”

“Like you were so much better!” snapped Della. She walked away from him, her fingers digging into the fabric of her shorts where her hands rested on her hips. “Like  _ you _ , Donald “flirts with anyone who smiles at him” Duck, were so much more ready for commitment than I was! You,  _ Donald “anger issues” Fauntleroy Duck _ , were ready to take care of kids?”

“I wasn’t,” Donald said. He deflated entirely, slumping back onto the couch. “Of course I wasn’t, Dell.”

Della whipped around. “What do you mean?”

“I wasn’t ready,” Donald said again. “For kids, for being on my own, for any of it. But unlike you, I didn’t have the luxury of running away.” He raised a hand to stop Della from saying anything. “I know you didn’t mean it that way, but you - Dell, you did. You got scared, so you got reckless, and you ran away. But I know it’s not your fault you didn’t run back.”

“Donnie -” Della sighed, relaxing her arms.

“When the kids were little - when they first hatched - I was so tired and stressed and overwhelmed. I had to grow up so much so fast. And for so long,  _ this _ was my greatest wish in the world.” He looked up at her with tired eyes. “That you would come home alive and whole and finally want to parent your children.”

“Then why change their names, if you wanted me back so bad?” Della asked. She moved back toward the couch as she spoke, eventually settling in next to Donald.

“You were dead, Dell.” He put one hand on hers. “Aside from the fact that Jet, Turbo, and Rebel aren’t names in the first place, you  _ weren’t  _ coming back. And for a while I could barely keep myself together looking at the boys, and they needed me to keep going. So I gave them real names and I pushed through the grief and threw my whole life into being a parent. I think I did alright.”

“Yeah, Don. You did,” Della replied quietly.

“The other cool thing about giving them names instead of a list of random words I like is that they get to decide what a Huey is, or a Dewey, or a Louie,” Donald said fondly. “And maybe their full names are a little dorky but can you honestly tell me that  _ Rebel  _ would’ve been a better fit for Lou? Our Louie?”

“I guess not,” Della said with a weak laugh. “I’ve still got so much to learn about them, about being their mom. About being an adult, too, I guess.”

“I’ll help you.” Donald squeezed Della’s hand. “Dell, I’ll help you.”


End file.
